Woman Punched, Spat On, And Hijab Pulled In Canadian Supermarket

In Ontario, a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf was assaulted while grocery shopping with her baby on Monday night.

At least two hate crimes against Canadian Muslims have occurred already this week. On Sunday, a severed pig’s head was left at the entry of a Quebec mosque with a sign reading "Bonne Appétit."

While the president of the mosque Mohamed Yanguiseemed not too worried about catching the culprit of the hate gesture, a physically violent attack against a woman in a supermarket is a bit more troubling.

Although police have not yet established the reason behind the attack, they have not ruled out calling it a hate crime.

CBC reports that while a Muslim woman was grocery shopping in London, Ontario, with her 4-month-old son she was attacked and spat on by another woman.

Out of the blue, a stranger approached her and began to yell in a “heavy accent,” according to London police spokesman Sandasha Bough. The stranger repeatedly punched the mother in the face and spat at her. She even ripped off her hijab, exposing her hair and pulling it during the attack.

She left the store without being caught by security and police are still looking for her.

The victim snapped a photograph of the angry woman while she was sustaining the attack. A relative posted the picture to Twitter, but then later deleted it, police reported.

Bough told CBC, “We would like to find out ourselves what… the motive was. After that, then we will continue with the investigation. It’s definitely very concerning for anyone to be assaulted for no apparent reason.”